Mortal Kombat X Issue 8
Recap Chapter Twenty-Two: Just The Two Of Us An enraged Scorpion and Takeda prepare to attack Havik, but Shujinko orders Hanzo to stand down, proclaiming Havik to be a man of god and guest of the Shaolin and poses no threat to anyone. Scorpion disagrees, telling Shujinko he has been deceived and that Havik is an agent of the blood demon. Havik tells Scorpion he is no one's agent but his own, and Shujinko demands proof to back up the accusations. Hanzo reluctantly calms down, admitting he has no proof, but admits that Havik's voice is familiar. Havik tells Shujinko the situation is a misunderstanding, before asking to speak with Hanzo alone. Shujinko agrees, and leads Takeda away. Takeda reluctantly follows Shujinko after Hanzo tells him to, leaving the Shirai Ryu and cleric alone. Havik tells Hanzo that he has been working for the enemy, and while Hanzo admits Raiden is many things, he does not believe the thunder god to be a traitor. Havik tells Hanzo that Raiden has lied about a 'demon' corrupting the daggers simply to fool Hanzo and have him collect all the Kamidogu to access the full extent of their power once they are gathered. Elsewhere, Shujinko tells Takeda to be at ease, promising him the Kang temple is one of the safest places on Earth, protected by an army of warriors, though Takeda recalls the Shirai Ryu temple was as well. When Shujinko tells Takeda his father Kenshi believed he would have been safe with the Shirai Ryu, Takeda asks him what he knows of his father, and Shujinko reveals Kenshi came to the Kang temple after he left Takeda with Hanzo, questioning his choices before ultimately deciding his war with Daegon took priority. When Takeda asks who Daegon is, Shujinko calls him his father's mortal enemy, and reveals him to be the leader of the Red Dragon clan, as well as a supposed demigod son of Argus. Takeda realizes this is why the Red Dragon were chasing them when he first met his father, and Shujinko coldly tells the boy that Kenshi chose war with Daegon over his own family, and that is why he is here now. Hanzo angrily rebuffs Havik's claims, calling them slander without proof, and goes to collect the Kamidogu. Hanzo discovers the dagger to be an illusion, and Havik mockingly asks him if he believed Shujinko would keep such a powerful weapon on display. Hanzo demands to know where the dagger is when Havik suddenly clutches his head, pleading with Hanzo that he doesn't know where the dagger is and that he will tell him the truth about Raiden. Hanzo orders him to spit it out, and Havik proclaims Raiden to be utterly corrupt, because he is the one who corrupted him. Ripping off the flesh of his nose and lower jaw, Havik tells Hanzo he corrupted all of those under the Kamidogu's influence, revealing himself to be the blood demon, and proclaims Scorpion is next, and Takeda won't be there to save him this time. Just as Takeda is demanding to know from Shujinko why Hanzo never told him anything of his father's choices, Shujinko attacks the boy with the Chaosrealm Kamidogu, revealing himself enslaved to the Blood Code. At the Sky Temple, Fujin returns and greets Raiden in the Jinsei Chamber, informing the thunder god that there is no trace of Quan Chi or his revenants, but informs Raiden that by reinforcing the seals around Earthrealm, they left a strategic weakpoint unguarded, a place between the realms. Raiden realizes Shang Tsung's Island is the incursion point, but when Raiden says they should investigate, Fujin reveals he already tried, but was repelled by a barrier similair to a shield spell remarkably similar to Raiden's own retaining spell. When Fujin demands an answer, a shocked Raiden reaches out to the Jinsei, only to be violently repelled. The thunder god admits the Jinsei has been rejecting him since the morning, and Fujin realizes he has overused the Kamidogu. As the wind god carries Raiden away, he asks how many he has, and Raiden admits only three, before realizing that Outworld is also exposed to Shang Tsung's Island as well, and that Johnny and Sonya are in danger if Kotal Kahn is no longer their ally. In Outworld, Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage impatiently watch as servants of Kotal Kahn load a ship with massive amounts of weapons and provisions for the coming siege. Sonya spots a box with a Black Dragon logo and angrily inspects it, discovering a Black Dragon W.M.D. When Kotal Kahn walks over, asking if there is a problem, Johnny reminds her that the emperor is their only means of reaching the island to save the girls. Sonya lies to Kotal, and the emperor leads them to their quarters on the ship. On Shang Tsung's Island, Reiko and Skarlet prepare for their 'guests' arrival, with Reiko ordering Skarlet to cut him with both Kamidogu in their possession. Empowered by the Blood Code, Reiko proclaims they will conquer both Earthrealm and Outworld, and slaughter the Elder Gods themselves. Chapter Twenty-Three: Cage Family: Sekret Origin As Kotal Kahn's ship sails through a storm for Shang Tsung's Island, Johnny Cage tries to invite Sonya into the only bed shared in their quarters, though Sonya refuses, preferring to sleep on the floor. Johnny tells Sonya he still sometimes wonder where they went wrong, and Sonya tells him they were wrong from the start. Years ago, Sonya woke up in Johnny's arms shortly after he defeated Shinnok and Raiden had sealed the Elder God away in his own amulet. Sonya is stunned and impressed with Johnny's selfless behavior during the battle, though Johnny brushes this off, admitting awe at her surviving a direct hit from Shinnok's amulet, as well as his worry that she was a goner. Telling Sonya that the war is over, Johnny asks her if he could take her to dinner and a movie, and Sonya agrees, as long as it's not one of his movies. Four months later, Sonya visits Johnny at his condo, and while the actor is excited to see her again, he is stunned into silence when Sonya announces she is pregnant. Years later, after marrying and having their daughter, Johnny wakes up one night to find Sonya gearing up for a mission for Special Forces to extract Kenshi from his undercover mission with the Red Dragon. Johnny asks if someone else can do it, reminding her it's Cassie's birthday. Sonya tells Johnny she put Kenshi in his predicament and she's responsible for him. Johnny reminds her she is responsible for their daughter as well, and Sonya admits she doesn't want to miss her birthday but makes it clear that when duty calls, sacrifices have to be made. In northern Pakistan ten hours later, Sonya fights alongside Kenshi against Red Dragon forces and local terrorists cells they hired to kill Kenshi. When Sonya receives contact on their extraction helicopter, she and Kenshi beeline for it, when Kenshi sees a woman with an RPG ready to shoot the copter down. Sonya aims her gun at the woman, but hesitates when she sees the terrorist's daughter right next to her. Shedding a tear, Sonya aims her weapon at the woman. Back in the present, Sonya tells Johnny the little girl watched her as she pulled the trigger, and a shocked Johnny asks if she killed the girl as well. Sonya denies this, before admitting to Johnny a part of her told herself she was setting the girl free and saw parallels between herself and Cassie. Johnny apologizes to Sonya for never knowing, and Sonya coldly reminds him that he never asked. A knock on their door announces their arrival to the island, and as they get ready, Johnny tells Sonya they can keep talking before they storm the island, but Sonya brushes his offer off, admitting she gave up her daughter's childhood to keep her safe and now she can only hope she didn't give those years up for nothing and that one day Cassie will understand how much she does love her. On the island, Cassie hears movement outside her prison when she is attacked by Jacqui, who is possessed and corrupted by the Blood Code. Jacqui holds Cassie in place as Skarlet arrives, telling Cassie her parents have arrived. Skarlet then stabs Cassie with one of the Kamidogu, enslaving Cassie to the Blood Code. Chapter Twenty-Four: Departure and Arrivals At the Kang temple, an enraged Scorpion attacks Havik, brutally beating the cleric of chaos to a pulp of burning flesh and bone in revenge for his slaughtered clan. As he is walking away however, Scorpion is shocked to see Havik rise back up, the Blood Code healing his injuries and returning him from death. Havik tells Hanzo he is holding back before kicking him through some doors, ranting all the while that Scorpion should become more than mortal by becoming an agent of chaos. Havik tells Hanzo that Raiden is his puppet, Outworld is eating itself alive, his clan is dust in the wind, and then reveals Shujinko and the temple monks enslaved to his will by the Blood Code, with Shujinko holding the Chaosrealm Kamidogu to Takeda's throat, threatening to make Takeda his slave as well. Takeda apologizes to Hanzo for not being ready, but Hanzo tells him to hold steady while making it clear it is not his fault. Telling Havik he has made his point, Hanzo demands to know what he wants. Havik madly tells Hanzo he desires his "friendship", proclaiming that blood and fire will liberate the realms from order, and that the gods will rule no more, allowing mortals to be in control. Havik tells Hanzo he only wanted Takeda as leverage and promises to return the boy to him to do with as he pleases once he has surrendered to his true nature. When Hanzo still hesitates, Havik renews his assault, though Hanzo refuses to fight back due to not wanting Takeda to be harmed. As Havik attacks Hanzo without relent, he tells him that while Scorpion's fire has protected him, he cannot die even if he wanted to. Knocking Hanzo down and hopping onto his back, Havik asks Hanzo how far he has to push him before Scorpion takes over. Hanzo tells him all the way, much to cleric's delight. As Takeda watches in horror as Havik tortures Hanzo, Hanzo looks to his student and tells him he will always have a choice, right before Havik punches his chest with enough force to puncture his flesh. Takeda breaks free from Shujinko's grip and rushes to his master's side, with a delighted Havik watching. When the cleric of chaos notes the fire in Takeda as well, he muses the boy may also join them, though Takeda refuses, preferring to die. Havik notes that the can arranged when Hanzo briefly regains consciousness, telling Takeda to run. Takeda tearfully reminds his teacher that Shirai Ryu don't run, and Hanzo dies in his arms. As Takeda grieves, Havik excitedly awaits Scorpion's rebirth, but is confused when nothing happens. Takeda reveals to Havik that there never was a Scoprion, that Hanzo always made his own decisions and that Havik will never control him. Disappointed, Havik muses that Hanzo truly was an agent of chaos before ordering Takeda to leave. Before departing, Takeda vows to make Havik pay, and the cleric looks forward to him trying. On Shang Tsung's Island, Kotal Kahn, Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and D'Vorah explore the beach with Kotal's forces when Reiko, Skarlet, and the Red Dragon mercenaries greet them, with Reiko mocking Johnny and Sonya for taking so long to arrive. After Johnny curses at Reiko, Kotal Kahn demands to know why he is inciting conflict with Earthrealm, and Reiko reveals his intentions to finish what Shao Kahn started by merging their realms under his own rule before revealing Cassie and Jacqui to Johnny and Sonya. The two are horrified to see the girls corrupted state as they proclaim Reiko to be their god and their intentions to kill them to prove it. Characters Featured In Order of Appearance: *Scorpion (Death) *Takeda *Shujinko *Havik *Fujin *Raiden *Johnny Cage (Main Story and Flashback) *Sonya Blade (Main Story and Flashback) *Kotal Kahn *Reiko *Skarlet *Kenshi (Flashback Only) *Red Dragon (Flashback and Main Story) *D'Vorah *Cassie Cage *Jacqui Briggs Mentioned *Daegon *Argus *Black Dragon *Shinnok *Elder Gods *Quan Chi *Shao Kahn Trivia *Several Netherrealm Studios producers names are listed on the comm panel of Johnny Cage's apartment building. Category:Mortal Kombat X Category:Mortal Kombat X Comic Series Category:Comics